Rescuers searching for 140 people from Indonesia passenger ship, official says
- On Sunday, September 13, 2026, the Virgo Transport 8 lost contact in the Java Sea while traveling from Surabaya to Banjarmasin with 243 people aboard, prompting Indonesian authorities to launch a search operation.
- The vessel's operator, PT Virgo Yoel Rihi, reported the loss of contact after the ship encountered bad weather during its journey; the Banjarmasin Search and Rescue Office received the report at approximately 2 a.m. Sunday.
- Rescuers deployed a helicopter and ships toward the vessel's last known position in the Java Sea, approximately 148 kilometers from a pier in Banjarmasin, to locate the remaining passengers.
- I Putu Sudayana, head of the Banjarmasin Search and Rescue Office, confirmed that 103 people were evacuated, though one of the rescued passengers died as the search continued for the remaining crew and passengers.
- This incident underscores persistent safety challenges in Indonesia's maritime sector, where inconsistent enforcement across an archipelago of 17,000 islands has contributed to recurring ferry accidents in recent months.
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478 Articles
New Strait Times
Gulf NewsIndonesia says six killed, 130 missing after ferry capsizes off Java
The vessel "Virgo-Transport 8" carried 243 passengers and crew. It had sailed Saturday from Surabaya, in the east of the island of Java, to reach Banjarmassin, in the island of Borneo, after a report to the rescue of the owners of the ferry.
Beckley Register-Herald
Oskaloosa HeraldSearch underway for about 130 people after Indonesian ferry overturns
Indonesian rescuers say about 130 passengers and crew are missing after a ferry carrying more than 240 people overturned in bad weather in the Java Sea. At least 107 people were rescued and the bodies of six passenger were recovered…
A passenger ferry has sunk in the Java Sea, killing at least six people and leaving more than 120 people missing, rescuers said. The ferry, which was sailing between the Indonesian islands of Java and Borneo, was carrying 243 passengers and crew. The search for possible survivors is underway in difficult conditions.
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